Fantasy football: Three RB options to replace Arian Foster

The Houston Texans got bad news on Sunday when they learned their star running back Arian Foster ore his Achilles’ tendon and will lose him for the season.

Foster played in four games this season, rushing 63 times for 163 yards plus 227 yards receiving, finding the end zone three times.

“It’s devastating,” said left tackle Duane Brown. “Just because I know how much he puts into this thing, how much work he puts in to be great, to be healthy, and to stay on the field. I know how hard he worked to come back from his groin injury. To have this happen, I’m really hurting for him. I know it’s pretty frustrating.”

If you happen to have Foster on your fantasy roster, the first replacement you want to look at is Alfred Blue, who figures to get the lion’s share of the carries going forward.

In Week 3, Blue ran for 139 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries but has been inconsistent when given the chance to show he can be “the guy” full time. He averages 2.2 yards per carry after contact and has one run of 15 yards or more this season, however, Football Outsiders ranks him 11th with a 53 percent success rate (minimum 48 rushes), which measures how often a rushers helps the team get a first down.

One area where Blue will struggle to replace Foster is in the passing game, where Foster averaged 2.1 yards per route run. Blue averaged just 0.44.

As of now, Blue is owned in less than 20 percent of leagues out there, so if you are looking to add him to your roster, now is the time. If not, here are three others who could help you this season.

Matt Jones, Washington Redskins

Jones could still be floating on your league’s wavier wire and eventually his production — or Alfred Morris’s continued decline — will get him more reps.

Jones has 311 yards from scrimmage with three touchdowns and is trending upward these past few weeks, unlike the incumbent Morris who can’t seem to get past the line of scrimmage.

Darren McFadden, Dallas Cowboys.

It was McFadden, not Christine Michael, who got the carries when Joseph Randle injured his back early in Sunday’s game against the New York Giants. McFadden made the most of the opportunity, running for 152 yards and a touchdown.

This is a risky play. If Randle is healthy, McFadden maxes out at 10 carries per game and between 20 and 40 percent of the snaps, but he has show he can run for yardage (two runs of 15 yards or more) and catch the ball out of the backfield (2.07 yards per route run) when given the chance.

Khiry Robinson, New Orleans Saints

Robinson vultured two touchdowns from Mark Ingram on Sunday (no, I am not bitter. Why do you ask?), rushing for 28 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries against the Colts. And while he won’t supplant Ingram unless there is an injury, Robinson does get enough looks in the red zone for him to be a short-term injury replacement or flex option during a bye week.

Neil GreenbergNeil Greenberg is a staff writer with The Washington Post whose beat is sports analytics. His analysis and insight can be found in the sports section, where he covers the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB as well as college football and basketball. Follow